A Progressive Pulls Ahead in Bellwether Congressional Race

Earlier this week, I highlighted the congressional race of Ilya Sheyman, a former national mobilization director for MoveOn.org, as a bellwether for progressive politics. If he wins his March 20th primary race against a centrist businessman in a moderately Democratic district north of Chicago, it will bolster the case that liberals can triumph by campaigning hard on income inequality and government jobs programs. The most recent poll had cast Sheyman as a slight underdog, but new numbers released today have him winning the race with 45 percent of the vote to businessman Brad Schneider's 27 percent.

The poll, conducted from March 11 to 14 by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and MoveOn, asked: "If the Democratic primary for Congress were held today, and the choices were Ilya Sheyman, Brad Schneider, John Tree, and Vivek Bavda, for whom would you vote?" Its margin of error was 3.9 percent. The poll also asked voters about their views of Schneider's political donations to Republicans, what might be considered push polling, but these questions were asked after the one above.

"This is our top priority House race of 2012 because, like Elizabeth Warren, Ilya Sheyman is a proven progressive fighter who will be a strong ally in Congress," PCCC spokesman Neil Sroka said in a statement. "His victory will send a signal to all Democrats across the nation that if you campaign as a bold progressive, grassroots volunteers and donors will have your back and help you achieve victory."